Step 1

Add the neutral cooking oil to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it begins to "sizzle."

Step 2

Meanwhile, peel and grate or mince the garlic and ginger (refer here for the easiest methods of peeling garlic and ginger) and finely chop the spring onions.

Step 3

Once all the garlic chili oil ingredients are prepared, place them in a small heat-proof bowl and pour the hot oil over them. It will sizzle and smell wonderfully aromatic as it cooks the ingredients – voila, the chili oil sauce is ready!Alternatively, you can add the ginger and garlic directly to the pan and cook until fragrant (20-30 seconds) and THEN remove them from the heat and mix in the remaining ingredients. This will yield slightly crispier and fragrant ginger/garlic.

Step 4

Meanwhile, cook your choice of noodles according to their package instructions. For example, glass ribbon noodles require just 3 minutes. Most fresh noodles require just 2-4 minutes, while dry noodles need up to 5-7 minutes to be ready.

Step 5

Once cooked, drain the noodles in a colander, add them to the chili oil sauce and then toss well to thoroughly coat.

Step 6

Top the chili noodles with some additional sliced spring onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and enjoy!For an alternative method, you can combine the sauce and noodles in a pan and stir-fry for a minute or two to infuse the noodles further with the sauce and cook away some of the liquid.

Step 7

Make ahead: you can prepare the garlic chili oil 2-3 days in advance and store it covered in the refrigerator (the oil will solidify when chilled and melt at room temperature or when reheated). Then reheat before adding to the noodles. These chili garlic noodles also work really well with leftover proteins and veggies, so feel free to use any meal-prepped ingredients.Store: allow the spicy garlic noodles to cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. I haven’t tried freezing the cooked noodles and I don’t recommend it.Reheat: you can reheat the garlic chili oil noodles in the microwave or on the hob until heated through.